Bag opening mechanism for packaging machine



8, 1959 c. B. HARKER 2,899,786

BAG OPENING MECHANISM FOR PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Sept. 6, 1957 aSheets-Sheet 1 mvsuo-ro C. B. HARKER BAG OPENING MECHANISM FOR PACKAGINGMACHINE Aug. 18, 1959 Filed Sept. 6, 1957 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 wvam-rokchcwlea IB-Q-(QM 7 w, @1 0 Ws/ CflTTQIQAJEY/ vAug. 18, 1959 c. B. HARKER2,899,786

BAG OPENING MECHANISM FOR PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Sept. 6, 1957 8Sheets-Sheet 3 QA TorzmsY/ Aug. 18, 1959 c. B. HARKER 2,899,786

BAG OPENING MECHANISM FOR PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Sept. e, 1957 aSheets-Sheet 4 (fl TTQ ms; 7/

8, 1959 c. B. HARKER 2,899,786

BAG OPENING MECHANISM FOR PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Sept. 6, 1957 8Sheets-Sheet 5 LE 3 mm l |l I ckcurze 1 7-,W J-5Z Aug. 18, 1959 c. B.HARKER BAG OPENING MECHANISM FOR PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Sept. a, 1957 8Sheets-Sheet 6 qr v w /f l q 122% UQTTOYQMILY/ Aug. 18, 1959 c. B.HARKER 2,899,786

BAG OPENING MECHANISM FOR PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Sept. 6, 1957 I 8Sheets-Sheet 7 c. B. HARKER 2,899,786

BAG OPENING MECHANISM FOR PACKAGING MACHINE 8 SheetSFSheet 8 Aug. 18,1959 Filed Sept. 6, 1957 F IJI BAG OPENING MECHANISM FOR PACKAGINGMACHINE Charles B. Harker, Rockford, llll., assignor to BarteltEngineering Company, Rockford, Ill., a corporation of IllinoisApplication September 6, 1957, Serial No. 682,476

' 14 Claims. (Cl. 53-187) This invention relates to a machine forforming, opening, filling and closing a succession of bags as the latterare advanced step by step along a predetermined path and presentedsuccessively to a plurality of stations. More particularly, theinvention has reference to that portion of such a machine for separatingthe wall panels of a flexible plastic bag to form a mouth through whichloose material such as pipe tobacco is inserted.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a new and improvedmechanism for opening the bag to be filled whereby the entire mouth ofthe bag is held open to permit a large quantity of material to bedropped in a mass into the bag.

. A further object of the invention is to provide a machine of theforegoing character having an improved mechanism for opening and fillingbags of the above described type.

A more detailed object of the invention is to open the bag month byusing a pair of flexible plates which are bowed outwardly to separatethe bag panels and hold the bag mouth open and to form a spout throughwhich material is guided into the bag.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new 'and improvedmachine of the above character which is capable of handling largeflexible bags. formed of thin unsupported plastic film material such aspolyethylene fihn, and which supports and holds the bag in the openposition for filling.

Still another object of the invention is to support the bag adjacent itsopen mouth as it is being filled.

A further detailed object of the invention is to open the bag mouth andsupport the bag adjacent its open mouth by gripping the bag panelsadjacent their upper ends between flexible clamp strips and the flexibleplates as the latter are bowed to form a spout.

The invention also resides in the novel construction and arrangement ofthe mechanisms for opening the bag and supporting the bag while holdingits mouth open for filling with the loose material.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of one form of a mechamsm, embodying thenovel features of the present invention, for opening and filling apolyethylene bag.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the opening mechanism shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the filling and openingmechanisms shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially in the planeof line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing one manner in which a bagis made and filled.

.Fig. 6 is a schematic perspective view showing another manner in whicha bag is formed and filled.

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary side elevation of another form nited StatesPatent ICC of a mechanism embodying the novel features of the presentinvention.

Fig. 8 is a plan view, with parts broken away, of the opening mechanismshown in Fig. 7.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view taken substantially in the plane of line 9-9in Fig. 7.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged fragmentary section View taken substantially inthe plane of line 1010 of Fig. 8.

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary section view taken substantially in the planeof line 11-11 of Fig. 10, and showing the bag in position for beingopened.

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary view similar to that of Fig. 11 but showing thebag in an open position for being filled.

As shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration, the invention isembodied in a machine for packaging a loose granular or powderedmaterial, such as tobacco or corn starth, in a bag 31 (see Fig. 5). Thebag 31 is expandable to assume a generally square or rectangular shapewhen opened and filled but is formed in a flat condition by folding asingle sheet to form front and back panels 32 and 33 disposed face toface and joined together along their side margins by seals 34 and alongtheir bottom edges by a fold 35. The side seals 34 extend from a pointbelow the upper edge of the front panel 32, which may be slightlyshorter than the back panel 33, to the bottom fold 35. When the bag isopened and filled as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, with the powdered materialoccupying the lower portion of the bag, the top of the bag is closed bya seal which may be made, for example, by folding over the upper portionof the panels 32 and 33. In the present instance, the panels are foldedtwice to provide a comparatively airtight package.

Preferably the bags 31 are made on an automatic machine such as the onedisclosed in U.S. Patent No. 2,649,674. The bags 31 are constructed froma flexible sheetmaterial, such as metal foil coated on one side with aheat scalable thermoplastic material, such as polyethylene film, or evenof such thremoplastic material above. The coated sides of the panels 32and 33 are disposed on the inside of the bag in face to face relation sothat the seals 34 may be formed by the application of heat and pressureto the outside of the bag at areas corresponding to the areas of theseseals. The heat applied is sulficient to soften the thermoplasticmaterial and the opposed areas of softened thermoplastic are fused bythe pressure.

In general, the bags are formed, on the machine by unwinding a sheet 45(Figs. 5 and 6) of foil coated on its upper side with the thermoplasticmaterial from a suitable supply roll (not shown) and by folding thesheet longitudinally into two strips 47 and 48 corresponding to'thefront and back panels 32. and 33. The fold is made to one side of thecenter of the sheet 45 so that the strip 47 is wider than the strip 48to conform to the sizes of the bag panels.

After being folded, the sheet 45 is advanced step by step along a linearpath through a succession of stations at which the various bag making,filling and closing operations are performed. At the first station 49(Fig. 5), the two strips are heat sealed together transversely to form aseries of bags connected at their side edges and open at the top. Thecross seal 50 thus formed is twice as wide as the side seals 34 so thatit forms the trailing edge seal of one bag and the leading edge seal ofthe next bag. After the strips are sealed, the bags are separated at acut-01f station 51 and the severed bags then are opened at a station 52and are filled with the material to be packaged at a station 53. Next,the material within the bag may be compacted or otherwise shaped, afterwhich the bag top is closed. The supply through a spout 95 materialwhich drops between the bowed plates and into the bag. Finally, the arm'73 is swung back to straighten the plates and the two arms are liftedraising the plates-out of the filled bag. The filling mechanism may beof any. of the many types well known in the art and suitable fordispensing the particular material being packaged and is operated in theproper timed relation to the other mechanisms.

A modified form of the invention is shown in Figs. 6 through 12. In thedescription of this modification, reference characters similar to thoseused above will be employed with the distinguishing suffix a.

A heat scalable thermoplastic film or sheet 45a is drawn from a supplyroll and the strip is doubled and sealed as described above to form asuccession of pockets or bags 31a. Individual bags are severed from thecontinuous strip at the seals and the bag mouths are expanded to receivea supply of material. Each bag 31a is supported during the opening andfilling operations on a rotary turret mechanism indicated generally as100'. The turret is indexed through a plurality of stations including abag receiving and opening station 101, a filling station 102, a tampingand compacting station 103, and a discharge station 104, all ofwhichstations are disposed circumferentially about the turret axis ofrotation 0. At the discharge station 104 the bag is released andcontinues to the closing and sealing mechanism.

As each bag 31a approaches the turret from the bag forming mechanism andfeed rollers 61a, grippers 106 (Fig. 6) seize the bag and pull it on tothe turret 100. At the receiving station 101 the bag is partially openedby a splitter bar 107 (Fig. 7) which bar also serves to guide the mouthof the bag on to the opening and sup porting mechanism 108.

The mechanism 108 for opening the bag mouth and for supporting the bagon the turret 106 is constructed in a novel manner to insure the properseparation of the bag panels to permit a large quantity of material tobe introduced into the bag. To this end, the mechanism 108 includes apair of flexible plates 110 and 111 which are straddled by the upperends of the bags panels 32a and 33a as the bag enters the receivingstation 1111 and which are separated by flexing or bowing to separatethe bag panels.

The action of the plates in opening the bag mouth is substantially asdescribed above and, accordingly, the plates 110 and 111 are made ofthin flexible sheet metal members which are normally flat and aredisposed face to face as shown in Fig. 8. By pressing against the sideedges-of the plates so as to move one edge of each plate toward theother edge as described'above, the plates are bowed outwardly and forman oval spout to guide the material into the bag.

The plates 110 and 111 are supported for bowing between the free ends ofhorizontal arms 115 and 116, which are carried on the turret 100 andwhich project in over the bag at the receiving station 101. Secured tothe ends of the arms are upright blocks 117 and 118 respectively.Notches 119 are cut out in the side edges of the plates 110 and 111 andreceive bars 120 secured to the blocks 117 and 118 for supporting theplates on the arms 115 and 116. The verticaledges of the plate projectinto a vertical groove 121 in the face of the blocks, the lateralsurfaces of the groove serving to limit a the extent of the bowing ofthe plates.

According to another of its aspects, the invention contemplates theprovision of a novel means which cooperates with the flexible plates 110and 111 to grip the upper edge portions of the bag panels 32a and 33aautomatically as an incident to the opening of the bag mouth. With suchnovel means, the mechanism is particularly well adapted to erect andfill bags which are formed of a thin sheet of thermoplastic materialsuch as polyethylene. When such a material is used to form a large size6/ bag, difficulties are encountered in supporting the bag for filling,these difliculties being due to the inherent tendency of the bag tocollapse under its own weight.

This novel means comprises two flexible bands or strips 112 and 113which are disposed face to face in spaced relation and on opposite sidesof the flexible plates.

The flexible bands 112 and 113 are also formed of thin flexible springsteel material and are mounted on the turret parallel to and spaced fromthe flexible plates 110 and 111.

The spacing between each flexible strip 112 and 113 and the adjacentflexible plates 110 and 111 (Fig. 8) is sufficient to allow the upperend portions of the bag panels to project between the strips and theplates when straddling the flexible plates. This spacing must be wideenough to prevent interference with the bag panels yet narrow enough toallow the plates and the strips to grip the bag panels. In this mannerthe bag 31a is supported at the upper end of its panels 32a and 33a asthe plates 110 and 111 are bowed inside of the bag mouth by the clampingaction of the flexible plates 110 and 111 against the flexible bands orstrips 112 and 113 respec tively spaced from the plates outside of thebag panels. Accordingly, the upper ends of the bag panels 32a and 33aare frictionally gripped between the bowed plates and the flexible bandsand the bag mouth is held open for receiving material, as shown in Fig.12. Supported in this position the bags are then indexed with the turretto the filling, compacting and discharge stations. At the dischargestation the plates are collapsed allowing the in Fig. 8. To this end thebands are coiled at one end around one of a pair of spaced pins 122fixed to the turret. The other end of each band is doubled back to forma hook 123 within which is the second mounting pin. The hooked portion123 of the band thus gives lateral support to the band while affordingsuflicient play to allow the band to be bowed in conformity with thebowed flexible plates and 111.

In the modification shown in the drawings, four sets of flexible platesare provided on one turret 100 although it should be understood that anysuitable number could be mounted on the turret and the index cycleadjusted accordingly. To this end, the turret 100 includes a suitablemounting plate 124 rigidly supporting one of the arms 115. Relativemovement of the arms and 116 to how the plates 110, 111 is obtained bymounting the other arm 116 to swing back and forth relative to the fixedarm 115. This is accomplished by a parallel linkage mechanism, whichincludes a pair of parallel links 125 and 126 pivotally mounted on theturret plate 124 and swingably joined to the arm 116. A cam follower 127on one of the parallel links is engaged by a cam 128 to move that linkback and forth to oscillate the arm 116 and bow the plates 110 and 111.

For rotating the opening mechanism the turret plate 124 is carried on ahollow shaft 129 (Fig. 7) which is formed as a sleeve surrounding acontinuously rotating shaft 130. The two shafts are coupled at theirupper ends by an electric clutch and brake mechanism 131. By alternatelyclutching and braking the turret shaft the turret is intermittentlyrotated to index the bags which it carries to the various successivestations. The hollow turret shaft 129 is journaledin a bracket 132mounted on the frame 58 of the machine.

The plates 110 and 111 are bowed to open and support a bag by rotationof the cam 128 relative to the turret. To this end, the cam is journaledon the hollow shaft 129 and is rotated thereon by a suitable oscillatingarm 133 Y driven by a cam mechanism (not shown). The cam 128 is providedwith an enlarged diameter portion 134 against a 7 which the linkfollower 127 rides to flex the plates, and with a reduced diameterportion 135, whichrallow's the follower 127 to move sideways to relaxthe bow in the plates.

In the operation (if opening a bag mouth for filling, the bag 31a ispulled from the strip 4521 by the grippers 106 onto the plates 110 and111, To guide the bagdrit o the plates, the splitter bar 107 is swungtowards the plates and is formed with a notched end which straddles theside edges er the plates and thereby provides a guiding surface overwhich the bag can travel. The splitter bar 107 is swingably mounted onthe bracket 132 and is swung towards the flex plates by 'a s'i1ita'b1ecam mechanism and cam rod 137 (Fig. 7). to the position shown in Fig. 8.When a bag $171 has been pulled onto the plates, which are collapsed forunbowed at this point, the splitter bar is swung away from the platesand the knife 63a swings towards the bag and severs it from the strip.Simultaneously I with the operation of the -knife 63a tocut the bag 31afree of the 'strip, the cam 128 is rotated 90" to swing parallel thelinks 125 and 126 and the arm 116 to bow the plates 110 and 111. Thisopens the bag mouth and holds the ends of the bag panels against theflexible bands 112 and 113 as shown in Fig. 9. The turret clutch 131 isthen engaged to index the bag to the filling station 102. During theindexing movement of the bag, the parallel cam follower 127 rides aroundthe surfaceof the enlarged idiaineterfportion 134 of the cam 128 andthereby holds the plates 110 and 111 bowed to grip the bag against thebands 112 and 113. v

With the bag now dwelling at the filling station 102,

material is discharged from the filling mechanism into the bag.Simultaneously, another bag is being loaded on to the turret atthe'receiving station 101, The finesse-g is then indexed again, byenergizing the turret clutch 131, to the compacting station 103, wherethe sides of the bag are flattened by a pair of spaced 'clarnpingrandforming plates 138. These plates are suspended for swinging movementfrom arms 139 swingably fiiounted between plates 140 secured to theturret shaft 129. on tlieeiid of the arms 139 opposite from the formingplates 1 38 are carried cam followers 141 'engageabre by fixed 'eam's142. The cams .142 'are designed to swing the in timed (relation to therotation of the turret so that the plates 138 swing in and out towardsthe filled bag and compact and form the material therein. The platesarrns 139 are biased to swing the plates outwardly by suitable springs144 and the cam and follower act against the 't'orce of the springstocompact the material inthe bag. From the compacting station 103, theturret is indexed to the discharge station 104. Thebag remains supportedat the station 104 until the cam 128 rotates to bow the flexible platespresently at the receiving station 101. As the cam 128 rotates, thefollower 127 on the parallel link 126 drops onto and rides on the smalldiameter portion 135 of the cam 128. This allows the plates at thedischarge station to relax whereupon the filled and compacted bag dropsto a suitable discharge chute or conveyor. The turret mounted plates,which at this instant are bowed and supporting a bag, remain bowedinasmuch as their respective cam followers 127 ride on the largediameter portion of the cam 128.

Various sizes of bags can be accommodated by'changing the flexibleplates to a larger or smaller size. To this end, means are provided formaking a suitable adjustment in the distance between the arms 115 and116. One such means entails adjustably mounting one link 1 25 on theturret and providing a slot 146 in arm 116 for adjustably securingthat'arm to the other parallel link 126.

l T o summarize the operation ofthe modified form of opening and fillingmechanism, a formed and partially opened bag 31:: is advanced to thereceiving station 101 where, guided by a splitter bar 107, the upperends of the side panels 32a and 33a of the bag straddle a pair .8 offlexible plates 110 and 111 611a transfer turret 100. A cam 128 isrotated to inove the ends of the flexible plates towards e'ae-h otherand how the plates outwardly thereby opening the ni'euth of the bag andclamping the tipper ends the Bagpaiers between the plates and a pair orspacea'fieinsi bands 1 12 and 1 13. The clamped bag is indexedby'retation of the turret to the filling station 102 where material isdischarged into the bag. The filled bag is again indexed to thecompacting and fo'nnin'g station .103"wheieapair of forming plates 1 38square or otherwise shape the sides of the bag. The bag is again indexedto the discharge station 104 and, as the bath 12 8, is rotated toela'inp a new bag at the receiving station, the filled and formed bag isreleased as the bow in the plates and 111 supporting it against thebands 112 and 113 is relaxed. The filled and formed bag then drops fromthe turret.

It will be understood that although the use of flexible bands or strripshas been described only'inconnectionwith the modified form of theinvention, that similar bands can be employed to advantage in connectionwith the first described form of the invention for holding the upperedges of the side panelso f the bag being processed.

This application is a 'continuation-in-part of my copending applicationSerial Nb. 465,885, filed November 1, 1 954.

I claim as my invention: I

1. In a machine for packaging material in a bag, the combination of,afilling mechanism having'a downwardly opening outlet through which aquantity of material is dispensed, a pair of horizontal generallyparallel arms projecting in toward and spaced beneath said outlet, aflat vertical plate of resilient material disposed below said outlet andspanning s'aidarm's with the'edges of the plate supported on the arms, asecond plate disposed face to face relative to the first plate andsimilarly supported "by said arms, means for presenting a bag open endup beneath said plates, said plates extending across said bag throughoutsubstantially the full width thereof, power operated means operable tomove said arms downwardly in unison thereby to lower said platesi'ntothe bag, and mechanism operable after lowering "of the plates to movesaid arms relatively together and bow the plates outwardly away fromeach other thereby to spread the walls of the bag apart and form aspoilt guiding the material from the outlet into the bag.

2. In a machine for packaging material in 'a bag, the combination of, afilling mechanism having a downwardly opening outlet through whieh aquantity of material is dispensed, a pair of horizontal generallyparallel arms projecting in toward and spaced beneath said'outlet, aflat Vertical plate of resilient material disposed below said outlet andspanning said arms with the edges of the plate supported on the arms, asecond plate disposed face to face relative to thefirst plate andsimilarly supported by said arms, means 'for presenting a bag open endup beneath said plates with the .platesprojec'ting into the bag,

and mechanism operable to move said arms relativelyto- .gether and bowthe plates outwardly away from each other thereby to spread the bagwalls apart and torma spout-guiding the material from theoutlet into thebag.

3. In a'machine for packaging material in -a bag having opposed flapsextending alongthe bag walls at the open upper end of the bag, thecombination of, filling mechanism having a downwardly opening outletthrough which material is dispensed, twoflat plates of resilientmaterial disposed face to face beneath said outlet in a vertical plane,a horizontal bar disposed in said planewith the lower edge generallyalined with the lower ends of said plates and with one end closelyspaced to one side edge ofthe plates, means for supporting the bagbeneath saidbar with-the 'flaps-straddlingthe bar, mechanism foradvancing the bag along the bar toward said plates to transferfthe flapsfron the -ba1 to the plate and dwell the bag beneath the plates, meansoperable during dwellaspires ofthe bag to lower theplates into the Bagand'then remove the edges of each plate relatively together thereby tobo'w the plates outwardly away from each other, and

ears subsequently operable to I discharge material t "ougli said outlet,betw "d plates and into the bag.

'4. In a machine fof pack g material in abag, the combi'natioh of,meaasaf supporting a bag presentingihe same to a predete ned' pbsition,a filling mechanisr'r'r' disposed adjacent'said position and having a"downwardly opening outletthroii'ghwhich aquantity of material isdispensed, two. flat plates of resilient material normally disposed face.to face near planes betw'e'en'sa'id outlet and the bag at saidposition, said plates eit'ehding' across the bag throughoutsubstantially the full width thereof, means for lowerir'i'gsaid platesinto the hag, and mechanisrhtsubsequently operable to movevthe edges ofeach plate relatively together 116 how the plates outwardly away fromeach other thereby to spread the bag walls apart and form a,spoutguiding the material from said outlet into the bag.

5. In a machine for packaging a material in a bag, the combination of,filling mechanism operable to dispense a quantity of material and havinga downwardly facing opening through which the material is dispensed, twoflat plates disposed face to face in vertical planes beneath saidopening, means for delivering a bag open end up beneath said plates withthe plates projecting into the bag through the open end, and mechanismfor moving the edges of each plate relatively toward each other to howthe plates outwardly away from each other thereby to spread apart thewalls of the bag and form a spout guiding the material into the bag.

6. In a packaging machine, the combination of, a pair of generallyparallel supports having opposed surfaces each formed with a verticalgroove, two flat plates of resilient material disposed face to face in avertical plane and spanning said supports with one edge of each platereceived in the groove in one support and the other edge of each platereceived in the groove in the other support thereby to hold the twoplates together at their edges, a small member disposed between saidplates and operable tobow the plates slightly away from each other,means for moving said supports relatively together to how the platesfurther and thereby form a spout, and a filling mechanism having anoutlet disposed above said plates and operable after movement of saidsupports to dispense material through said outlet and between theplates.

) 7. In a mechanism for separating the side panels of a bag to define anopen mouth preparatory to packaging material therein from a fillingmechanism having a downwardly opening outlet through which a quantity ofma* terial is dispensed, the combination comprising, a support, a pairof generally parallel arms mounted on said support, said arms havingopposed surfaces each formed with a vertical groove, two flat plates ofresilient material disposed face to face in a vertical plane andspanning said arms with one edge of each plate received in the groove inone arm and the other edge of each plate received in the groove in theother arm thereby to hold the plates together at their edges, two spacedvertical pins mounted on said support on each side of said two flatplates, a first fiat strip of resilient material pivotally mounted atone end on one of said pins and disposed in a vertical planesubstantially parallel to the plane of said plates, said strip beingspaced from the adjacent plate an amount greater than the thickness ofthe bag panels, means on the other end of said strip for slidablyengaging another of said pins, a second flat strip of resilient materialsimilarly mounted on the remaining two pins, and means for moving saidarms relatively together to how the plates outwardly into contact withsaid strips and thereby bow said strips, said plates opening the bagmouth to form a spout through which material can be dispensed from theoutlet info the bag and sinhrltaneeusly clamping-the bag panels againstsaidstrips; I p 7 8. In a mechanism for opening a bag mouth preparatoryto packaging material tli' er'ein'" from a filling-mecha nism havingafdowh'warjdly op'e'nin'g' outlet through which a quantity of materialis" dijspe'nsed,-'the'combination comprising a. support, a pair ofgenerally parallel arm's mounted on said support andha'ving opposedsurfaces each formed with a; vertical groove; two'flat plates; ofresilient material disposed face to face in a vertical plane andspanning s'aid arrhs with one edge of'each plate received in the groovein one arm and the other edge of each plate receivedin the'groove of theother arm thereby t o hold the two plates together: at their edges, twoflat strips (if resilient"niaterial mountedon said support in spacedvertical planes and disposed one on each side of said two plates, andrrre'ans' for moving said arms relatively together to bow the platesoutwardly into contact'withtlrestrip'sl and thereby bow said strips,saidpl a'tes when" bowed forming a spout through" which material can bedispensed from the outlet into the bag and simultaneously clampingportions of a bag between the plates and said strips.

9. In a mechanism for opening a bag mouth preparatory to packagingmaterial therein from a filling mechanism having a downwardly openingoutlet through which a quantity of material is dispensed, thecombination comprising a pair of generally parallel supports havingopposed surfaces each formed with a vertical groove, two flat plates ofresilient material disposed face to face in a vertical plane andspanning said supports with one edge of each plate received in thegroove in one support and the other edge of each plate received in thegroove in the other support thereby to hold the two plates together attheir edges, and means for moving said supports relatively together tobow the plates apart and thereby form a spout through which material canbe dispensed from the outlet into the bag.

10. In a machine for packaging material in a bag from a fillingmechanism having a downwardly opening outlet through which a quantity ofmaterial is dispensed, the combination comprising a pair of horizontalgenerally parallel arms adapted to be positioned beneath said outlet, aflat vertical plate of resilient material spanning said arms with theedges of the plate supported on the arms,,a second plate disposed faceto face relative to the first plate and similarly supported by saidarms, a flat vertical strip of resilient material spaced from anddisposed face to face with each of said plates, means for presenting abag open end up beneath said plates, said plates extending across saidbag throughout substantially the full width thereof, and means operableto move said arms relatively together and how the plates outwardly awayfrom each other into contact with said strips thereby to grip the upperedges of the bag for suporting the same and to spread the bag wallsapart and form a spout for guiding the material from the outlet into thebag.

11. In a machine for packaging a material in a bag from a fillingmechanism operable to dispense a quantity of material and having adownwardly facing opening through which the material is dispensed, thecombination comprising two flat strips disposed face to face in parallelvertical planes, two flat plates disposed face to face in parallelvertical planes intermediate and spaced from said strips, means fordelivering a bag open end up beneath said plates and between said stripswith the plates projecting into the bag through its open end, and amechanism for moving the edges of each plate relatively toward eachother to how the plates outwardly from each other thereby to spreadapart the walls of the bag and clamp the bag between the plates and thestrips for supporting the bag and for forming a spout to guide thematerial into the bag.

12. In a machine for packaging material in a bag, the

combination of, a pair of horizontal generally parallel arms, a fiatvertical plate of resilient material spanning said arms with the edgesof the-plate supported on the arms, a second plate disposed face to facerelative to said first plate and similarly supported by said arms, meansfor presenting the bag open end up beneath said plates with the platesprojecting into the bag, said plates extending across said bagthroughout substantially the full width thereof, mechanism operable tomove said arms relatively together and bow the plates outwardly awayfrom each other thereby to spread the walls of the bag apart, and afilling mechanism operable to dispense a quantity of material downwardbetween said plates and into the opened bag.

13. In a machine for packaging material in a bag, the

vcombination of, means for supporting a bag and presenting the same to apredetermined position, two flat plates of resilient material located atsaid position and normally disposed face to face in vertical planes,said plates projecting into the bag and extending across the bagthroughout substantially the full width thereof, mechanism operable tomove the edges of each plate relatively together to bowthe platesoutwardly away from each other thereby to spread the bag walls, and afilling mechanism subsequently operable to dispense a quantity ofmaterial between said plates and into said bag.

14. In a machine for packaging material in a bag, the combination of,two flat plates disposed face to face in vertical planes, means fordelivering a bag open end up beneath said plates with the platesprojecting into the bag through the open end, mechanism for moving theedges of each plate relatively toward each other to bow the platesoutwardly from each other thereby to spread apart the walls of the bagand form a spout to guide material into the bag, and filling mechanismoperable to dispense a quantity of material and having a downwardlyfacing outlet operable to dispense material through said spout and intothe bag. V

No references cited.

